negativism

[ neg-uh-ti-viz-uhm ]

/ ˈnɛg ə tɪˌvɪz əm /

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See synonyms for: negativism / negativistic on Thesaurus.com

noun

a negative or pessimistic attitude.

Psychology. a tendency to resist external commands, suggestions, or expectations, or internal stimuli, as hunger, by doing nothing or something contrary or unrelated to the stimulus.

any system of negative philosophy, as agnosticism or skepticism.

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Origin of negativism

First recorded in 1815–25; negative + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM negativism

neg·a·tiv·ist, nounneg·a·tiv·is·tic, adjectivenon·neg·a·tiv·ism, nounnon·neg·a·tiv·is·tic, adjective

Words nearby negativism

negative resistance, negative sign, negative tax, negative theology, negative transfer, negativism, negaton, negator, negatory, negatron, Negev

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use negativism in a sentence

So we are stuck with him and must recognize even with all his hypocrisy and negativism toward Democratic policy he is better than a Republican.
Manchin: an egomaniac and hypocrite we need|Peter Rosenstein|April 13, 2021|Washington Blade
“All he gets from Congress is negativism and carping,” says Dallek.
Obama Outlines His Post-Presidency|Eleanor Clift|August 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is enough to make Agnewesque nattering nabobs of negativism proud.
Economic News We’re Thankful For This Thanksgiving|Zachary Karabell|November 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Without it, the seeds of change and innovation will wither in a soil that is an arid mix of negativism and defeatism.
America's Real Problem: We Failed the Middle Class|Arianna Huffington|September 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST

This is an admission that negativism is of the nature of resistance.
Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology|C. G. Jung
Negativism is a state of persistent compulsion to contrary response to suggestion.
Applied Psychology for Nurses|Mary F. Porter
The negativism and refusal to go to stool are the outcome of the nervous unrest, not its cause.
The Nervous Child|Hector Charles Cameron
Fretfulness and negativism with all children whose management is at fault come in waves and cycles.
The Nervous Child|Hector Charles Cameron
Thus the mother of the child in whom defæcation is inhibited by negativism may have made further observations.
The Nervous Child|Hector Charles Cameron

British Dictionary definitions for negativism

negativism

/ (ˈnɛɡətɪvˌɪzəm) /

noun

a tendency to be or a state of being unconstructively critical

any sceptical or derisive system of thought

psychiatry refusal to do what is expected or suggested or the tendency to do the opposite

Derived forms of negativism

negativist, noun, adjectivenegativistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

negativism

Origin of negativism

OTHER WORDS FROM negativism

Words nearby negativism

Words related to negativism

How to use negativism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for negativism

Derived forms of negativism